Days of Their Lives
by Kakashi's-lil'-sis
Summary: ANBU Kakashi thinks his life is over when he finds himself the bodyguard of three toddlers who are wanted by one of the worst criminals of Konoha history. They also seemed to be hell bound to worm themselves into his heart. R&R
1. Wake Up

_ Stinks..._

That was her first thought as awareness set in. Cracking her eyes open to the immense darkness, the little blonde girl tried to move. She winced at the first signs of nausea. She felt _sick_. With each passing moment, despite the frigid dank air, sweat began to break on her forehead.

Something heavy lay across her chest, blocking her ability to sit up. She pushed it up a few inches before it stopped, trapped between something she couldn't see. Instead she tried to push it past her head. The object bent near the middle easily and she was free.

She shivered and moved to her knees, trembling. Without looking behind her she knew without a doubt it had been an arm that had trapped her. Taking a deep breath, she immediately regretted it as the raw stench of rotting flesh filled her lungs. She doubled over and vomited.

After regaining her senses she stood, slightly unstable on the squishy surface of a torso. Blinking into the darkness she was relieved to find that she could now make out her surroundings. Hundreds of corpses piled onto each other registered in her vision. They were of all shapes and sizes. Many small children like herself. They were deformed, torn open, some even in pieces. Some even appeared to be asleep.

They spread out as far as she could see. Feeling infinitely tiny, the girl crouched to her knees and shivered. Then, she began to cry. Why was she here? What had happened?

_ Who_ was she?

She didn't know how long she sat there, even after the crying stopped, but all at once a single word came to mind.

_ Siblings_. It made something inside her chest ache.

She mused over the word. Siblings. Plural. More than one. A brother is a sibling right? There was something else as well. A...a sister! A sister was also a sibling.

Did she have siblings? Somewhere her mind answered. Yes. She did.

A shuffling of movement and a heavy thump startled her. She shot up, and scanned the area.

Nothing moved. Then, once again there was a slight shifting sound. It was coming from the other side of the...pile. Suppressing the uneasiness of her stomach, the girl stretched out and began to move toward the sound. She cautiously peaked around the shoulders of a corpse. The body of a boy not much older than herself was slumped to the ground, shoulders moving as if breathing hard. One of his legs was trapped between a pair of cadavers.

He raised his head, black hair matted with blood, to meet her eyes. With out the slightest idea of how she knew, for some reason she had known that his eyes would be red. A look of recognition crossed the boy's features, followed closely by confusion. Hesitatingly, the girl crawled over.

Together they freed his trapped leg in a short matter of time. Afterwards, the two sat side by side, in a strange sense of peace. The girl looked over, noticing the dotted lines that created a strange pattern on his face and joints, like a twisted sort of puzzle.

Glancing down at her own hands, she found that her nails were sharper than the boy's. There was a string of red blotches on the back of her hand and on the inner part of her elbow. The sight triggered a flash of images in her mind.

Pain. Struggling. Boiling fluid. Then, tubes, the sounds of animals screeching, a jumble of kanji on various labels. Finally, desperation.

She looked back towards the boy, they locked gazes. No words were needed as they stood and began to move.

It was an uneasy feeling as they set out, helping each other over obstacles, sometimes slipping when a foot hold was coated in whatever bodily fluid happened to be oozing there. Being barefoot made the experience all the more unpleasant.

The little girl was forced to once again empty her stomach when as she stepped on a rotting skull. The skin slid, making her tiny toes slide into the eye socket with a disgusting squelch. The smell had been the final straw.

She discovered as they traveled that a majority of the bodies were on top of animal remains. The sheer number of human remains were not as numerous as she had first assumed. However, this revelation did little to lift her spirits.

It was disorienting being in almost total darkness with no sense of time. She didn't know how much time passed before they spotted an exit ahead of them. As they moved closer, the number of bodies decreased until they could feel dirt being caked onto their slimy feet. The exit, or maybe entrance, was oval shaped and narrow.

A breeze swept fresh air over them, which was welcomed with a relieved smile.

Then suddenly they arrived. A few feet ahead of them was a cave entrance. Beyond that, moss covered trees.

A sniffling noise from the right caught the two toddler's attention. Two turquoise blue eyes stared at them in a mixture of horror and relief. The little girl's long silver hair dragged the floor behind her; it was matted with blood and dirt. With teary eyes and a shaking finger, she pointed towards the entrance.

The blonde girl looked forward once again and found to her surprise, a large spider web covering the upper half of the entrance. The spider itself was busily working away, oblivious to the three children. The raven-haired boy and blonde girl exchanged a glance and walked over to the silver haired girl, both extending a hand. After a bit of reluctance, she accepted their hands.

Without letting go, the three of them crouched, silently scooted under the web, and stepped out into the fresh air. The trees created a solid covering for them, the sunlight only touching the ground in rays. The ground was a mixture of moss, grass, and rotted vegetation. Various bird calls filled the air. The trees creaked under the pressure of the wind.

The blonde girl let go of her companions' hands and looked around, feeling something she had the distinct feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Freedom.

xoxoxoxox

The earth steadily sloped downward from the cave, but the ground was even. Traveling over it was less tiring than climbing the terrain inside the cave. The three children didn't look around, too tired to be interested. Too scared to stay still. The plants had dwarfed them since they left the mouth of the cave. Tall ferns made them nearly invisible. As the blonde girl crawled over another tall tree root, she thought about the cave. Looking back, the entrance had been surrounded by ivy and heavy foliage with no hint of the horror that lay inside. For some reason that bothered her.

Then, deciding that she had other things to worry about, the girl shrugged it of and began to follow the boy and silver-haired girl once again.

Time passed, with no sign of another living creature. The temperature steadily dropping along with the sun. Fatigue and hunger began to take their toll on the children, who stumbled more often as their bodies gave out.

When the sun had disappeared behind a distant mountain, and breath became visible, the three fumbled their way under the shelter of a large fern. Curling up together for warmth, despite the filth they were covered in, they fell into a disturbed sleep.

Sometime during the night, the blonde girl woke to her heart pounding.

She swore the sounds she heard were feet surrounding the area. Noises merged together and became drums, the sound becoming painful. She covered them in vain to try to protect them from the noise.

Suddenly there was a scream like that of a women being mangled. Then, silence loomed over and she could hear nothing but the sound of flesh tearing, and smell the stench of blood. It took everything to keep from throwing up. Then, the noise stopped and all that was left was a new sound of something large in the sky approaching her.

xoxoxoxox

A warm, sticky hand on the blonde girl's cheek woke her for the second time. Blinking from the sunlight, she stared up into two sets of eyes, one scarlet and one turquoise. She sat up slowly and looked around her.

The fear from the previous night seemed like a distant dream. After the bird had flown over she had passed out. She smiled reassuringly to her two companions and stood, pushing the fern out of her way.

Without waiting, they began their journey once again. A thick mist clung to the air until the sun was high in the sky. The animal life reappeared as the air warmed. The plant life thinned out until they were able to see more than a few feet. The grass also shortened until it was only at waist height. Then, the trees opened up to a large valley. In the distance, a small village was surrounded by rice paddies.

After a moment of hesitation, the blonde girl started forward. She was stopped almost immediately by the sound of whimpering. Behind her the other girl had her long hair snagged by a bush of thorns. Tears dripped down her face as she tried desperately to free herself. However, every time she tried to pull away it tangled more. Darting forward, the blonde and the boy began to pull on the matted locks.

No progress had been made an hour later. The boy was trying to comfort the blue-eyed girl as she sobbed. The blonde stared at the thorns in disdain, her small brain scrambling for a solution. She barely noticed as the light began to dim. Finally, she looked up as a dark shadow fell over the area. Storm clouds filled the sky, rushing over their heads as if they were in a race to reach the mountain.

The blonde stood and began to scan the ground around them. She paused when her eyes landed on a medium sized stone. Then, she crouched to her knees next to it. It was round in shape, and, unlike others she had seen, it had an almost waxy appearance. She ran her fingers across its surface. Her brain supplied a name: _flint_.

She stood once again and found another medium stone. Running back as the first drops of rain hit her back, she sat on her knees and brought it above her head. Then, with all her strength she slammed the stones together. Raising it again she repeated the action. Her companions watched her silently, the steady sound of the stones hitting each other filling the air.

Minutes passed by before the first chip appeared. Shifting her angle the blonde continued her task. The flint began to come off in pieces. As her stone slammed into the already broken pieces, it shattered, shards flying into the air, one clipping her chin.

At last, a reasonable sized shard broke away. Breathing heavily, the blonde picked it up in her hand, one of the edges slicing her fingers in the process. She winced and took hold of the opposite side. Then she turned towards the other girl.

Taking a handful of the dirtied silver hair, the blonde began to cut her loose. The rain was coming down quickly now in fat drops. When the girl was finally free, the blonde dropped the shard and turned towards the direction of the village frantically. They needed to reach it before the storm worsened.

The meadow before them stretched downhill and ended in a break of trees. Beyond the trees, rice paddies. Then finally, would be the village itself.

The boy came up to stand next to her, and nodded. They would have to run. The blonde reached around and took the silver-haired girl's hand and ran out into the open.

Tall grass whipped at their arms and faces as well as the raging wind. Rain slammed into their little faces.

By the time they reached the trees, the storm released its wrath. With a vague sense of the village's direction, they stepped forward under the trees.

The canopy above shielded them from the brutal force of the tempest. As the pressed forward the ground beneath their feet became slick and unstable. The trees began to thin and as the trio moved closer, a steep bank appeared before them. Losing her footing, the blonde slid to a stop on the edge of the flooding river. Several feet below her, the gray-brown water raged to the right, taking small bits of debris with it. As her companions, joined her the ground beneath them shuddered.

Their screams were lost to the storm as the bank gave way underneath them plunging their small bodies into the frigid water below.

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><p>Whew, this took a bit longer than I thought it would. Obviously this has a much darker tone than my other stories.<p>

I would like to thank my wonderful betas whitewolfgirl and ChristinaAngel! They've been a big help.

I'll do my best to force chapter 2 out of my head soon.


	2. The River

Useless arms flap desperately in the murky water. Urgently trying to pull the tiny body to the surface. A flailing hand broke the surface, followed instantly by the blonde's ragged gasp.

The child's legs kick madly to keep her head above water. Fast moving water making the girl dizzy. She sank a bit as she tried to wipe water from her eyes. She kicks harder.

A glimpse of silver disappears into the grayness of the storm far ahead of her.

Her companions are gone.

Rain began to sting her eyes. A wave splashes in her face and she chokes on the inhaled water. She fights against the water, though her limbs are tiring quickly.

A loud clap of thunder makes her cry out, her focus lost in the shadow of fear. She sinks beneath the surface. Tumbling, churning, twirled around until she could no longer remember the direction of the surface.

The river pushes her into the air once more and the struggle begins once again. She can no longer feel her toes.

A large, dead limb floats slowly ahead of her. Reaching out as best she can, the blonde makes a desperate grab for it. Anything to hang onto. Catching one of smaller branches she pulls herself to its more secure, thicker part.

Finally able to rest, the blonde is no longer able to hold back the frantic tears. Scared, alone and in imminent danger. She clings to the limb as her only life line.

The first tug of the rapids pulls her from her stupor. Her grip becomes vice like as the limb is suddenly careening through unforgiving waters.

A sharp crash sends her flying. The limb has caught on protruding stones. The rapids immediately draw the child under. Dragging her across the rocky bottom. The speed is unimaginable.

The blonde can no longer hold back her screams of pain when her left leg crashes into a large stone. The crash sends her cartwheeling. Miraculously, before her lungs fill with water, she arrives at the surface.

She breaths deeply, latching onto another floating piece of driftwood. The river begins to smooth. She rests her head on the wood.

Hours pass. The only thing keeping the girl conscious is the rain on her head. The river's rage continues to subside until she is simply drifting along.

The storm's lightning is the only thing combating the inky blackness of night. The rain weakens until it is only a gentle drizzle.

The blonde hardly recognizes it when her feet touch bottom. The gentle current of the water eases her onto the bank.

Weakly, she drags herself into the shallow water. When her hands reach a mixture of grass and mud, she collapses. The storm continues quietly.

The water begins to recede. Leaving the child's motionless body three feet from the water.

xoxoxoxox

A slight fluttering of wings brings the blonde into consciousness. Golden eyes, glazed with exhaustion, slide open to glare at the unrepentant birds. Nonetheless they continue to hop around, looking for their morning meal.

The blonde sighs and shifts her arm, sending the birds scurrying away. The movement drains her energy but a persistent pain in her leg propels her forward.

Finally in a sitting position, the child draws her left leg towards her body. Just below the knee a dark red gash extends three inches downward. Gently she prods the skin around the wound, causing a jolt of pain.

Pushing the pain from her mind she turns her attention to more important matters. Glancing around her slowly, she takes in her surroundings. Directly ahead of her, the river drifts peacefully to the right for a few yards, before swirling around a large clump of debris caught on a sandbar.

A light morning mist still graced the area, making everything glow unnaturally. The only evidence of the horror from the night before was the markings where the water had risen many feet and had since died down.

Shivering, the child wrapped her arms around her knees. Her forehead connected with them and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the tears at bay. She takes deep breaths in through the nose, and out through her mouth.

The sharp sound of a branch snapping startles her. Swiveling her head, her eyes land on the closest part of the debris pile that stretched across the sandbar. The silver haired girl was half sprawled across the debris where she had just fallen.

The blonde watched in awe as the girl straightened up and examined a scraped elbow. Tears stung the blonde's eyes and a strangled sound escaped from her throat. The silver haired girl head shot up, making eye contact in the process. She broke out in a wide smile and began scrambling towards the blonde.

Meeting halfway the girls embraced in a mix of tears, snot, and laughter.

The silver haired girl stepped back and wiped her face, "I- I thought I lost you." She blubbered.

The blonde nodded in agreement, "Me too."

The two stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Then the blonde looked back upriver. A strange feeling in her chest pulled at her. Motioning with her hand she urged the silver haired girl to follow her up stream. The urge to move far too unnerving to stay.

The silver haired girl lunged for the blonde's hand, wanting nothing to separate them again. The two began walking upriver, only stopping every now and then for a quick drink from its water.

An hour later, the sun had risen higher clearing away the mist and chill.

The two girls moved slowly, drained from hunger and exhaustion. A sudden pain from her leg, which had previously only been a dull ache, caused the blonde to sink to the ground, her eyes closed tight. The silver haired girl panicked, and began to pull on the her hand, "No, no get up! You got to get up and walk!"

The blonde fell over onto her injured leg after a particularly hard yank from her companion. The impact caused her to cry out in pain. Moving onto her back side, she pulled her injured leg close to her body.

The silver haired girl crouched next to the blonde, tears streaming from her eyes, "I'm sorry." She finally got a good look at the wound and wiped her arm against her eyes.

Standing up she rushed to the river's edge and scooped up some water in her hands. Running back over, spilling half the contents on the way, she poured the water over the wound, then stood up to repeat the process.

The sounds of plants moving made the girls freeze in their spots. The silver haired girl moved to the blonde's side as they stared at where they last heard the noise. Something had been moving. Both girls screamed when a shadow fell across them suddenly.

Turning around wildly, they stopped suddenly staring at the black haired boy who had also jumped back in fear. It took seconds for both girls to wrap their arms around him as they cried.

The boy pet their hair, murmuring comforting words to them, trying desperately to stop their tears. "Look, look, I'm ok. Everything's ok." He whispered, pulling away so he could see their faces.

The blonde grasped his hand, "I...I thought I-I'd never see you again." She sobbed.

The silver haired girl agreed through her hiccups. The boy smiled warmly and then perked up with a smile. "Come, come this way. There is something good!"

Pulling the two girls behind him, the boy lead them into the forest. Wiping her face with her hand the blonde found herself in front of a long row of shrubs. Large black berries covered them. The boy grinned, "See? This will make you feel better."

The two girls didn't take long to answer him as they began to grasp at the berries. The boy laughed lightly before joining them.

When at last the children had had their fill and drunk from the river, the three sat together in the shade of a large oak tree. Completely at peace the three succumbed to their exhaustion and full bellies, falling asleep in a ball of tiny limbs and warm, soft bodies.

xXxXxXxXxXx

xXxXxXxXxXx

I want to thank everyone for being so patient with me and waiting for my abominably late update. And don't worry things will get better for this trio...but only after it gets worse.

Also a HUGE thanks to my amazing beta's whitewolfgirl and ChristinaAngel. (And also my poor mother.)

I hope everyone will comment, you wouldn't believe the wonders support does to my motivation.


	3. The Lackies

Standing at the entrance of the foul smelling cave, two figures stood hunched under the weight of large burlap bags. Lighting a torch, the two men stared down at the floor in confusion.

"Hey, Dai...those is footprints ain't they?" The larger of the two asked.

Quickly striking his partner over the head, Dai growled, "of course you idiot."

Leaning down, Dai took a closer look. Three sets of tiny, filthy footprints lined the ground beneath them leading away from the inner chamber.

"What do you think Dai?"

Scratching his head, the scraggly looking man dropped his bag. "Shigeo...I think that some kids must have somehow survived and escaped the cave!"

"Huh? Why do you think that, Dai? Couldn't it have been some kids from the village at the mountain's base exploring or something?" Shigeo asked, also dropping his bag.

Scowling at his partner, Dai spat out ,"Baka! First of all, the footprints only lead out! Not in! Besides we've got the entire village believing this mountain is cursed. Even on a dare no kid this small could make it all the way up here."

"Oh. But Orochimaru-sama doesn't throw away anything alive." Shigeo said, swatting a large spider onto the ground, then stomping on it.

"That he doesn't." Dai said, pressing a finger to his temple, "That means Orochimaru-sama must have made a mistake and put them in the trash with the rest of the experiments... Hey Shigeo, do you know what this means!"

"No. What's it mean, Dai?" Shigeo asked, managing to look like a large ape in the process. Dai was compelled hit him once more.

"It means that if we track these things down and bring them back to Orochimaru-sama, he'll reward us!" Dai said excitedly.

"You mean Orochimaru-sama will treat us better?" Shigeo asked, excitement lighting up his face.

Nodding vigorously, Dai motioned to Shigeo, "You go throw these bags in with the rest of them. I'll go take a look around."

Lifting the large bags onto his shoulders, Shigeo took a deep breath, held it, and trotted into the darkness. Dai turned his back to the cave and surveyed his surroundings. Almost directly in front of him he could see an area of grass that had been trampled on recently.

When Shigeo returned, gasping for fresh air, the two took off in the direction the trail led them. Now, the two lackeys had never been trained in the art of tracking. They hadn't been trained in anything actually.

So, progress was slow, and many times they had to retrace their steps before they would stumble across the trail once again.

The storm hit a few hours into their search. Together the two raced along the trail, only pausing every now and then to check the tracks. By the time they stumbled into the clearing the storm was full force. Growling in frustration, Dai attempted to wipe the perspiration from his forehead.

"We'll head to the village, Shigeo. The kids probably headed there anyway." Dai yelled above the raging wind. They walked with their heads tucked down against the rain along the edge of the forest.

"Um, Dai?"

"_What_, Shigeo?" Dai snapped, not bothering to stop.

"Um. Well I – you see, just now-" Shigeo stuttered, pointing over his shoulder.

"Aw, shut up Shigeo!" Dai hand's fisted at his sides and he began to stomp along his path.

Looking back over his shoulder, Shigeo shrugged at the long stands of silver hair flowing in streams from a thorn bush. He figured he'd just tell Dai about it later. But that chance never came because in that instant terrified screams filled the air around them.

With only a second's pause, Dai was already running full speed towards the river. In a matter of minutes the two shinobi stood on the bank, studying the collapsed bank.

Muttering angrily Dai crossed his arms. "We better go on ahead to the village. We'll head out and find them kids once the storm lets up. They'll wash up downstream.."

"Won't they drown, Dai?" Shigeo asked.

"We still got to retrieve the bodies anyways. They could have evidence against Orochimaru-sama." Dai said as he turned, shoving Shigeo aside in the process.

"Come on you dumb lug. Let's go get something to drink."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

A frown crossed the little blonde girl's face as she crossed her legs gingerly. She could hear laughter from the branches above her and smiled upwards when the voices were directed at her.

She wasn't sure exactly how far they had traveled down the river since they had woken up. Her leg assured her it wasn't happy with how she was using it. Eventually, she found herself unable to go any further and had promptly sat down where she had stood.

Seeming to understand, the two other children had moved her to a shady tree and even brought the girl some water. She couldn't blame them really. The tree they were resting under had low branches and she was taking an awfully long time to rest.

Still, she couldn't help but feel left out. She wanted to climb trees too. Stupid leg.

Somehow, between the blue-eyed girl and black-haired boy, climbing the tree had turned into a competition of who could end up higher. Then, a strange sort of game of tag ensued. The blonde rested her head in her hand and watched their two shadows dance along the ground, through those of the tree's shadow.

When her companions finally came down from their escapade, the blonde immediately stood and motioned for them to continue with their trek. It wasn't long until she was smiling again because the silver haired girl's enthusiasm was infectious.

The trio made its way along the banks of the river, scattering wildlife in their wake, and unable to keep themselves from playing when they had the chance. Somehow, the horror of the past day faded in the bright sunlight and sounds of the forest.

So the blonde found herself surprised when she looked around only to see long shadows. Her eyes were drawn to the sky and for a second she was spellbound by its blazing orange color. It was drawn away when the silver haired girl called out to her, and at that moment her heart was overcome with love. She reached out and instinctively both of her companions took her hand.

That's when their perfect moment was shattered.

Two tall figures appeared a few feet from them. The familiar stench of decay clung to their clothing and a singular fear took hold of the three toddlers. These adults weren't here to help them.

It was the boy that began to drag the girls into a run, straight into the trees. A strong rush of adrenaline flooded into the blonde's system. She tightened her grip on the other two toddlers hands and found herself praying to any being who was listening that they would make it.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Shigeo leapt forward instantly to chase after the three toddlers he had seen run away into the forest. He was stopped by a hand to his chest and a sinister grin from his partner. Dai then motioned with a finger and began to walk after their prey.

"Um, Dai, why aren't we chasing them?" Shigeo hopped to catch up to him.

"They're a lot smaller than I expected them to be. They're not going to be able to out run us. Let's let them tire themselves out and then they won't give us any trouble. Hurry up you lug-nut." Dai answered nonchalantly.

Shigeo shrugged, and followed Dai as they jumped into the tree branches.

They followed the children from above for what he figured to be about a mile. He had to hand it to them that they were determined little brats. Except, he could tell that the blonde kid was injured and she was definitely starting to slow down.

A small clearing soon came along, and he followed Dai to land on the ground. The trio were almost to the trees when the little boy of the group stopped and pushed the girls behind him. He could tell the three were arguing over something. The two girls were crying.

"Run!" The boy yelled, pushing them again. "Go! Now!"

He could hear his partner snickering next to him as he started to move forward. With an anguished sob the two girls turned and ran. The boy turned and glared at them with all the ferociousness a four-year-old could muster.

The boy held his ground as the two advanced on him. It was Dai who acted first, with a swift kick to the boy's abdomen. Shigeo rolled his eyes at that. Dai had always had a bit of a cruel streak.

Shigeo watched for a moment as Dai kicked the fallen boy a few times. That was before the boy latched onto his leg.

It took Dai at least a few minutes to pry the boy off. Wrapping a hand around his neck, Dai squeezed, until, despite his struggling and tears, the boy's eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp.

Dai tossed him disdainfully at Shigeo with a quick order to tie him up.

After wrapping a length of wire around the boy's midsection, they immediately set out after the other two, leaving the unconscious body in the clearing to pick up when they returned.

It took them nearly thirty minutes to catch up to the two girls. They had managed to do quite a bit of weaving in different directions to set them off track.

This time Dai dropped down from the trees before them. Already angry, he slammed a fist into the little silver haired girls face with enough power to send her flying into the nearest tree. Knocking her out cold.

The blonde girl screamed in absolute horror as blood began to pour out from the silver haired girl's mouth and nose. She turned and began to scramble away, rising to her feet she ran as fast as she could. Shigeo ran after her, leaving Dai to the silver haired girl.

Due to his large girth, Shigeo had a hard time catching the blonde as she seemed to change direction every time she looked over her shoulder. She zipped between trees and under bushes. He found himself shouting out in frustration.

Finally, the child tripped and face planted hard enough to bloody her nose. His hand closed around a filthy little ankle which was slowly crushed as he lifted her. He continued to yell out his anger as he shook her violently, completely ignoring her pained screams.

Throwing her towards the ground he pulled back his fist to fully convey his feelings. He was completely surprised when he found himself unable to move. His field of vision was suddenly engulfed by an entirely different view, and a fear of which he had only felt underneath Orochimaru's wrath filled his chest.

Those feelings of fear would be his very last thoughts.

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><p>Thank you all so much for reading this far! I want to thank my wonderful beta's whitewolfgirl and ChristinaAngel :)<p>

Next chapter: Rescue finally comes?


	4. Rescue

AN: Just to help with your time line, the characters and their ages; Genma – 20, Raido – 21, Kakashi – 17, Tenzo – 13, Blonde girl – 3, Little boy – 4, Silver haired girl – 3.5

Thank you all so much for reading I hope you enjoy and remember that every author likes reviews more than favs! Thank my wonderful betas, you know who you are.

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><p>At the railing of the south-west wall of Konohagakure, Hatake Kakashi stood as lazily as always. Resting his head on one hand, the man glanced over the horizon, taking in the rapidly darkening sky.<p>

"Beautiful sunset isn't it, senpai?"

Turning to the figure who had appeared next to him, Kakashi hmmed in agreement.

After a moment of silence, the second man laughed nervously, "well, I just came to get an update for Hokage-sama. Has anything interesting happened?"

"Maa, not a thing. Say Tenzo-kun, ha-"

Tenzo immediately noted Kakashi's sudden stop. He watched intently as the man straightened and slipped the ANBU mask hanging from his hip to cover his face. Kakashi motioned for Tenzo to follow, and then leapt over the railing. Following his superior, he quickly followed behind him.

On the forest floor below the two men crouched low to the ground. Tenzo concentrated on his surroundings, trying to sense what had put his senpai on guard. Then he heard it, the sounds that signaled someone approaching.

However what pushed through the bushes, in front of them, was not the dangerous enemy either of them were expecting.

In a heartbeat, Kakashi was kneeling at the side of a bound and bleeding child. He immediately gave out an order to the young man standing next to him.

The child, a young boy around four to five years old, stared up at him with wide red eyes. His face was badly bruised, and the remains of blood stuck to his clammy skin. Dark bruises lined his neck. Behind his mask, Kakashi frowned in disgust.

He deftly snapped the bit of ninja wire that trapped the boy's arms to his side. He could hear Tenzo in the back ground calling for backup. Tiny hands reached out and gripped his uniform.

The boy struggled to speak, tears streaking down his face. "P-please...help."

Kakashi placed a comforting hand on the boys shoulder, "Don't worry, you're safe now."

The boy only gripped tighter, "N-no...pl...please help, they're...in danger. Those bad men...are after...us." The boy coughed violently on a sob, "They...going to hurt her!"

"Kakashi-san?"

Turning his attention back to the small group of shinobi who appeared around him, he motioned to the nearest, "Raido-san, this boy needs to be taken to the hospital immediately. Keep on your guard."

"What's the situation, senpai?" Tenzo asked as Raido followed his orders.

"The kid said two men did this to him and they are 'after them'. He couldn't have come very far so whatever is happening, is close. We'll split up and see if we can find any traces of his attackers and whoever his companions are." Kakashi leaned down and quickly summoned a trio of tracking hounds.

"Genma, Tenzo, give the signal if you find anything." With that said, Kakashi turned and followed one of the hounds into the trees without waiting for a response.

Kakashi stretched out his senses, searching for any sign of movement. A low, short growl proceeded a change in direction as the canine in front of him picked up a trail.

Kakashi felt the cooling air sting his bare shoulders as he flew through the trees. The ground was still muddy from the recent storm in this area. Faintly he could hear the shouting of a man somewhere ahead of him.

The pained screams of a young child chilled his blood and he rapidly closed in on the sounds location.

Whipping out a kunai, he processed the vision in front of him with lightning speed. A large man with an Iwa headband was drawing his fist back, prepared to strike the huddled form at his feet.

Landing directly in front of the man, Kakashi raised his blade and deftly plunged it into the man's chest. The man fell dead at his feet and Kakashi rounded on the child behind him.

This one seemed to be a girl, judging from the long matted locks of blonde hair that flared around her. Kneeling next to her, he placed a gentle hand on her shivering shoulder. The child immediately began to sob and flinched away.

"Wait, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently, raising his empty hands in a placating gesture.

Wary golden eyes, finally turned to him and the sobs died down to quieter little gasps. Trying again, Kakashi spoke as carefully as he could, "I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe now."

The strength simply drained from the girl and she collapsed onto the dirt. Kakashi quickly pulled her tiny body into the crook of one arm, observing the extent of her injuries. Standing, he heard a series of quick yips some distance away. Genma had found something as well.

Dismissing his summon, Kakashi leapt to the nearest branch. A flash brought his attention to the tiny being in his arms. Glazed eyes, barely open, stared at him in awe.

"Are...you an angel?"

The question brought forth a short laugh, and he answered as he headed once again towards the hospital, "I'm far from being an angel."

But the little girl had already fallen unconscious.

The Third Hokage's office felt heavy with tension. Dawn was beginning to peak over the horizon, but it had felt like much longer to the Hatake.

To his right, a Medic and a coroner stood, tired and grim expressions on their faces. A small number of ANBU acted as the audience to this particular session. Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe and broke the silence, "ANBU Wolf has given me his report in full and has left many questions. Shuu-san, to what extent are the children injured?"

The medic stepped forward, "The young female child with silver hair received the worst of the injuries. Besides multiple bruising and shallow wounds the three share in common, she received severe blunt force trauma. We were able to reduce brain swelling to a minimum, but the child has fallen into a coma."

Pausing the medic lifted a file before him and flipped the page, "The young boy took a severe beating and his throat was nearly crushed. The blonde girl's ankle has been sprained, nearly broken, and has a light infection to a wounded knee."

"We estimate their ages to be three, four, and three respectively. There are also a multitude of residue toxins in their system's which are being taken care of. It...it appears they may have been tortured, or experimented on." The medic stepped forward to place his report on the Third's desk. "From the amount of malnutrition and other physical traits that the three were in captivity for quite a while."

The Third rubbed a hand across his forehead, voicing the one thought that was running through everyone's mind, "for someone to do this...to mere babes..." He heaved a sigh, "Takeshi-san I hope you have found something in your autopsy?"

The coroner stepped forward in the medic's place, "Hai, Sandaime-sama. The two men taken down by the on-duty ANBU squad were both sporting Iwa hitai-ate, and I confirmed their presence in the registry of wanted criminals. They were low lifes and had done nothing memorable."

After a pregnant pause the Third motioned for the man to continue. "I have reason to believe they were in service of, if not working directly for, Orochimaru of the sannin. I found mention of him within some personal documents on their person."

If possible, the lord Third Hokage seemed to age before their very eyes. "If this is so, it would explain the experimentation and captivity. If Orochimaru sent these men after the children, it's reasonable that he may try it again."

"I want the Barrier Team to be informed and security raised on all entry ways into the village. Contact Iwa, inform them of their criminals demise, in case they wish to retrieve the remains." The Third waved away a few men to complete the tasks. "Also, Wolf may I have a word with you alone?"

Kakashi waited until the rest of the rooms residents left the room to remove his porcelain mask. When the older man before remained silent for more than a few minutes, he was tempted to speak. "Sir?"

Sarutobi nodded his head, seemingly to whatever it was that he had been thinking. "Kakashi...I want you to begin a surveillance of the children. Stay close to them. If any of Orochimaru's men are able to slip past our guard I know that you, of all shinobi, will be able to keep them safe. You must understand what their existence in Konoha can mean?"

Kakashi crossed his arms, "Of course, they could lead us straight to Orochimaru. This is a large problem we are holding over his head. We could have a member of the Yamanaka clan to go through their memories and possibly be able to find his current base of operations."

"Exactly. I will let you get some rest first and clear up any loose ends. First thing tomorrow I'll have you permitted into the hospital to guard them full time." With yet another wave, the Third dismissed the wild haired ANBU.

As the puff of smoke cleared, where the man had once been standing, the Third Hokage turned to his crystal ball with a familiar gleam in his eye. Maybe, just maybe, these three children would become the blessing his village needed.


	5. Named

The blonde child sat on a firm white mattress in a featureless white room. A window extended across the left wall, shades pulled shut. Artificial light nearly blinded her when she first woke up, fearful and teary.

Then a beautiful woman, with chin length wavy auburn hair had strode into the room and sat beside her. She had freckles dotting over her cheeks and nose. She taught the blonde child that the thing in her arm was an IV and it was giving her body nutrients she had lost from not eating. She taught her that the thing strapped around her foot was a splint, and the bandages around her leg were keeping her leg from getting sick.

She taught her that the woman herself was a nurse, a person who took care of sick people, and that her name was Escu. Escu then showed the blonde the other bed in the room that held the limp form of the silver haired girl, tubes stuck out of her body and throat and the blonde began to cry. It looked similar to something bad, but she could not remember exactly what.

Escu calmed her and assured her that the silver haired girl was only asleep so she could heal. She would wake up.

With her limited speech, the blonde was able to communicate the most important of her questions. _Where was her brother then?_

The redhead smiled and motioned to a woman standing in the doorway. The woman went away and soon came back holding the hand of the black haired boy. When their eyes landed on each other, it took the combined efforts of both nurses to keep the two apart long enough to ensure they did not rip out their IVs.

The boy now had a brace around his neck and the blonde had to be assured that it was for his behalf. They were sat next to each other on the wide hospital bed and allowed to reconcile. For an hour the toddlers communicated with intense stares and muted noises posing as words.

Finally Escu was prompted to ask their names. To which the children replied that they did not have any. Escu consulted with the others nurses and after another few hours of deliberation the children were christened.

The blonde girl was named Mikeira, and the black haired boy was named Maaku. Finally the sleeping silver haired child was named Hirari.

The children seemed pleased with the new development.

* * *

><p>Around noon, Escu brought in a young man with silver hair. Mikeira gasped and whispered into Maaku's ear. He nodded and whispered something back. The man watched despondently.<p>

"Maaku-kun, Mikeira-chan, this is Hatake Kakashi and he will be staying with you for a while." Escu said sitting next to the children on the bed.

"Kakashi-sama, the angel that saved us!" Mikeira exclaimed.

Escu stifled a giggle, "No Mikeira-chan, Hatake-san is a shinobi, not an angel."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Well, are you sure you can say that in confidence Miss Escu?"

Escu blushed scarlet, "Hatake-san behave yourself."

Kakashi only smiled in response and strode over to take a position between the two beds that occupied the room. This was the first time he had laid eyes on the third member of the tiny trio. The child's hair had been trimmed neatly, and it shown in bright, silver contrast to the black purple bruises covering her face.

He found little comfort in knowing they would be treated gently here in the hospital.

Sitting in the provided chair he slipped out his book and began to read. He didn't pay attention to what the kind nurse was giggling about with the children, barely acknowledging when she left the room to do her rounds.

He had to admit to himself, though, he was a bit miffed at his current assignment. Babysitting? That's what he had been resorted to? If the likelihood of Orochimaru attacking the village over the kids was indeed so high, wouldn't be a brighter idea to place them in a high security facility with a team of guards?

Honestly what was Hiruzen thinking leaving Kakashi alone with three toddlers? What did he know about kids?

Tipping his open book under his chin, Kakashi glanced over at the two sharing a bed on his right. They were curled around each other closely, the blonde supporting the boy where the brace kept him from getting comfortable. They were staring at each other again and whispering through drooping eyes.

'Well,' Kakashi was forced to admit, 'At least they were kind of cute.'


	6. Memories

Forget what he said about them being cute. They were not cute. Anything that could ask so many questions was absolutely not cute.

It had started the next morning shortly after the two had been served their specialized breakfast. _'What was he reading? Could he read it to them? What is a shinobi? Why do they do that? What's an ANBU? __**Why?**__'_

_Ugh_.

His one saving grace was that they slept a lot. In fact, if they weren't eating or talking they were sleeping. Which was good for them, even he had to admit they were getting better faster. Only a few days and the boy had already had his neck brace removed and Mikeira had the bandages removed from her knee.

Keeping them in bed? A whole job in itself. For being so underweight, they had seemingly limitless energy. This was something that drove their sweet nurse up the wall. Escu did her best, and the children adored her. It wasn't hard to get medicine into them. They're careful and obedient. But they're also restless and eager to do anything but sit around.

Escu had asked, once, if Kakashi thought it would be a good idea to take them to the nursery where other children were held and a playroom was available. But what if there was an attack? What if the one time they let the children out of their immediate sight was the time Orochimaru snatched them, not caring about collateral damage.

In the end, it was safer for the kids and the other patients if they stayed in one place until things were over.

What was sad was seeing them trying to include Hirari in their limited activities. They would struggle to climb into the provided chairs or onto her bed and pat her hand, pet her hair, and talk to her as if she could hear them.

Sometimes they cried, but would only accept comfort from each other.

This particular day would be special. Inoichi Yamanaka would be coming to perform a jutsu which would hopefully extract memories that could lead to Orochimaru's location.

At least that was the plan.

That's not how it went.

When Inoichi arrived he spent a few minutes talking with Kakashi about the details of the case, and a few minutes gushing over the children to get them to warm up to him. Which they did, they warmed up to anybody who would pay attention to them.

Inoichi performed his mind reading jutsu with the full trust of the children whose head he cradled in his hands. He spent enough time probing the mind of Mikeira that Maaku began to get nervous and Kakashi had to holg the little boy in his arms to calm him.

Inoichi was in a much darker mood when he retreated from Mikeira's mind and he didn't speak for a long while. He performed the jutsu on Maaku and Hirari before he motioned for Kakashi to follow him into the hallway.

"I didn't find anything pertaining to his whereabouts." Inoichi sighed "They only have a few days' worth of memories to go through, and when I started digging…well it's best to leave those memories behind them. They were definitely experimented on, and from what I can tell, Maaku was part of Mikeira at one time, some part of her subconscious given human form."

"So he's not human?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh he's human all right. He's just going to have a stronger connection with Mikeira than, say Hirari will. Hirari it seems, Orochimaru was trying to clone Mikeira's kekkei genkai into her, to transfer it somehow."

"She has a kekkei genkai?" Kakashi asked, surprised, "Do you know which clan?"

Inoichi shook his head, "I can't tell what it is at this time, but the seeds are there. When her abilities begin to show we may be able to identify her heritage. Anyway, as to a location, the memories they have of this cave are shaky at best. There are thousands of caves in the region I'm thinking of and it would take months to search them all."

The two men stood in silence for a moment. "You know, my daughter is nearly their age…" Inoichi shook his head, "Orochimaru is a monster."

The nightmares started that night.


	7. New Home

He tried to calm them down. He did every trick in his admittedly small book of kiddie tricks to cheer them up. But Maaku and Mikeira would not stop crying. It took a frazzled troupe of nurses, led by Escu, to teach Kakashi how to hold and rock the little girl into calmness while Escu focused on Maaku.

By the time the two were tucked back into bed, Escu's shift had been over two hours.

Kakashi thanked her as she left and settled back in between the room's two beds. Whatever Inoichi had done had obviously knocked some memories lose for them to be reacting this way so soon after. For a moment Kakashi could hear the tiny voices begging for it to _stop_.

He hoped he never found out what **it** was.

Blessedly the two didn't seem to remember the ordeal in the morning, eating their breakfast with neat motions and lots of napkins.

After breakfast the two spent some time hovering over Hirari while Kakashi wrote his latest report to send to the Hokage. The answer he received that afternoon wasn't what he had been expecting. It also pretty much meant the end of the world in Kakashi's opinion.

"I have to take them home?" He asked out loud, mostly too himself.

"I'm sure it's nothing to do with you, Hatake-san. The hospital is always in need of more space and the children will heal just as well outside than in here." Escu said reassuringly, patting Kakashi's back as he stared unseeingly at the paper in his hand.

"That I can understand, but what I _can't_ is why _**me**_? My home is no place for children…I have _stuff_ lying around." Kakashi turned to look back at the two children in the room.

"Well, you'll just have to watch them carefully and pick up after yourself." Escu said folding a stack of sterile white sheets. "I'm sure the Hokage wouldn't send them home with you if he wasn't sure you were up for the mission. It is a mission isn't it?"

"Yes, an A-rank." Kakashi answered wistfully.

"Well, you know where to find me if you need any help with them or have any questions. I'll help in any way I can. I know they will hate to leave Hirari's side." Escu said softly.

Hate was an understatement. As soon as Kakashi told the two toddlers they would be leaving without their third member, they blew a fuse. Once again the fuss drew in a group of nurses who fretted and fussed over them until they calmed down and Kakashi stood silently by the door while Escu sat on the bed.

Pulling Mikeira onto her lap Escu took a long time explaining over and over again that Hirari would be staying with her for a while and they could come anytime they wanted to see her, but there were other sick people who needed the bed they slept in. That Kakashi would take good care of them until Hirari could come home too.

It took a few minutes of Escu's quiet assurances before the two toddlers calmed down enough to allow Kakashi to pick them up and move down the hall. He had to rearrange them twice before he was comfortable enough to carry them into the street.

The walk to his home took longer than usual, slowed by his burden. Kakashi didn't see anyone he knew, thankfully, and no one gave him any suspicious looks. Did he honestly look like the two toddlers hanging off him belonged there?

Mikeira and Maaku watched their surroundings with wide eyes and clung a bit tighter to Kakashi. They had never seen so many people, alive at least, and the village was alight with lanterns and street lamps. They passed shops of all sorts and each presented a new smell or sensation for the two children. By the time they had reached Kakashi's house they were tuckered out.

Kakashi struggled with the front door for a moment before he was able to go inside. He set the two children down on the floor of the foyer and slipped of his shoes. Turning to them he gave them a quick "Stay here." Then walked into the house.

His first stop was immediately to the right, the living room, where he quickly cleared off the couches. He then left the living room, turned right and took a flight of stairs. A quick stop the linen closet and he was back downstairs to make up the couch for his impromptu visitors.

It took next to nothing to lead the toddlers to the couch and put them in bed. They insisted on sharing one couch and pillow.

Kakashi spent the rest of the evening picking up every sharp object he could find and locking them away in his room. It was during this that he really began to think.

They were going to need things. Clothes, food, toys… where did he get away with buying all this? He hadn't a clue where to start. What did they even eat besides hospital food?

Stopping in the dining room, Kakashi dropped into a chair at the table. Across its surface open scrolls and maps were splayed open from some research he had long since lost interest in. Rubbing his eyes he let himself feel hopeless for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he was about to double check his initial sweep for harmful things when there was a knock at his door.

And standing at the door when he got there was the last person he wanted to see at that moment.

"Gai."


	8. The Ninken

"Don't be so testy, I bring gifts!" Gai said motioning to the large box in his hands.

Kakashi steps to the side and Gai tumbles inside. He sets the box on top of everything on the dining room table. Kakashi peaks inside.

"Toys?" He asks picking up a bright colored plastic block.

"And clothes, and some food too." Gai says leaning against the table. "The Hokage had everything gathered for you to help you get started."

'Thank god.' Kakashi thinks; he watches Gai fidget for a few seconds. "You want to meet them don't you?" he asks deadpan.

Gai smiles brightly, "Why of course!"

Kakashi rolls his eyes and leads Gai into the living room. The two are right where he left them though now awake from the commotion that is Gai.

Mikeira and Maaku stare owlishly at them both. Kakashi introduces them.

Gai spends a few minutes gushing over them and the power of youth which Kakashi is sure the children don't understand. They giggle anyways.

"Gai-san is ANBU too?" Mikeira asks.

Gai shakes his head, "Nope, I'm a jounin."

Kakashi then gets to spend the next few minutes explaining the finer points of the differences between ranks of shinobi. Gai rolls his eyes, "Kakashi I'm sure they don't care about that kind of stuff."

Kakashi glares, "I was their age when my lessons started."

"You're a special case." Gai says deadpan.

Mikeira and Maaku watch the exchange thoughtfully, soaking in the information and setting it aside. It was then that two tiny stomachs began to growl. Mikeira carefully crawled over to Kakashi's side and tugged at his sleeve. "Kakashi-san, I'm hungry."

That would make sense seeing as they hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Argument forgotten Kakashi turned pleading eyes to Gai. Gai nodded and they each picked up a child and moved them to the kitchen.

Gai dug around in the big box and pulled out two packages of instant ramen. "This will do for now."

He handed them to Kakashi who set off to work boiling water. Mikeira and Maaku sat on the tall stools at the counter and Gai stood just behind them to make sure they did not fall off. The two children's eyes wandered over the room, taking in the new sights.

When the ramen was done, each child got a steaming cup. Kakashi was once again surprised that he didn't have to warn them about being careful; they seemed to already know to eat slowly.

Gai headed for the door, "If you need anything, you know where to find me. And not just me, I'm sure anybody would be willing to help."

"Thanks Gai." Kakashi said and looked back to the kids. "I may end up taking you up on that offer."

When Gai had left and the children had finished eating Kakashi decided to bring into action the plan he had made earlier. He summoned the ninken and debriefed them on the situation.

He split them into two groups of four. He had Shiba, Guruko, Bull, and Urushi go outside and make a four sided perimeter around the house. Pakkun, Bisuke, Akino, and Ūhei were to stay inside and switch with the other four at midnight.

What he did not expect when he introduced Pakkun and the others was for the hair on Mikeira's head to literally rise and she hide quickly behind Maaku. Maaku took her hand, "They are just dogs, do not be afraid."

Pakkun stepped forward, "I am Pakkun, my team and I will protect you."

Mikeira peaked from behind Maaku's back and Kakashi caught a glint on her hand. Gently he uncurled her little fist from Maaku's shirt and studied her hand. Her fingernails had sharpened to deadly points and as she calmed down, her claws blunted till they were normal again.

"Kakashi?" Pakkun questioned.

"I've seen this before. I might know who she is." Kakashi said and let go of Mikeira's hand. Kakashi quickly wrote a note and sent it on its way to the Hokage.

Pakkun (パックン; the pug)

Shiba (シバ; the one with the black mohawk on his head)

Bisuke (ビスケ; little one with droopy eyes and symbol for shinobi on his forehead)

Akino (アキノ; one with glasses)

Guruko (グルコ; little one with the forehead protector on his forehead)

Ūhei (ウーヘイ; one with bandages)

Urushi (ウルシ; the white one)

Bull (ブル, Buru; the big bulldog)


End file.
